The Stewart Detention Center and the School of the Americas: Imperialism and Pain Profiting in Georgia

Written by SOA Watch

Wednesday, 04 December 2013 16:15

From November 22 through the 24, we held the 23rd annual School of the Americas Vigil in Columbus, Georgia. November 22 also marked the 7th annual Shut Down Stewart Detention Center Vigil in nearby Lumpkin, Georgia. It was the sixth year in which large numbers of SOA Watch activists have participated in the Stewart Vigil, which has become the first event during the School of the Americas Vigil. This year once again saw a moving rally, march, and vigil in which the reprehensible treatment of migrants in the U.S. was made painfully evident to the over 300 protesters in attendance. We sang, we laughed, we cried, and we raised our voices in unison to say "!Ya Basta!" "Enough!" to the incarceration of migrants.

Corrections Corporations of America (CCA) is the largest for-profit prison company in the U.S. CCA is the owner of the Stewart Detention Center, which is the largest immigrant prison in the country. The fact that CCA and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) warehouse almost 2,000 men in Stewart simply for seeking a better life for themselves and their families is infuriating enough. That they do so for profit is immoral. But that is only the tip of the iceberg of the injustice occurring in Lumpkin and other private and public immigrant prisons across the country.

While thousands gathered at the gates of Fort Benning for the November Vigil, updates from Honduras were read from the stage. A delegation of SOA Watch activists was on the ground in Honduras, to observe the presidential elections, which took place on November 24, 2013. Here is the report:

The SOA Watch delegation to Honduras observed numerous
irregularities and problems during the elections and vote counting
process that cause us not to trust the electoral results released by
Honduras' Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE). In additon to what we directly observed, the control of the TSE by the ruling
parties provided opportunity for significant manipulation of the
results and fraud after the polls closed and information was
transmitted to the TSE. Two new parties, LIBRE and PAC refuse to recognize the TSE's
results and both report significant discrepancy between the results they received from the voting stations and the results reported by the TSE.

The TSE has reported that the ruling party's candidate, Juan Orlando Hernandez of the National Party, is leading LIBRE's Xiomara Castro. The National Party is currently in control of the government and LIBRE is a new political party created out of resistance to the 2009 military coup that removed President Zelaya and unleashed widespread repression across the country. The Anti-Corruption Party (PAC), whose presidential candidate is Salvador Nasralla, has also challenged the TSE's results. LIBRE and PAC are calling for the TSE to release results voting
table by voting table so that they can be verified.

Listed below are a few examples of the irregularities and problems that our small delegation
observed. The Honduras Solidarity Network also has a preliminary report on the elections here.

In El Paraiso, a woman who was signing her name in the voter rolls
as part of the voting process, reported that her uncle's name and
photo was listed near hers with a signature
indicating he had voted. He has been dead since 1998. She
found him again on the voter list posted outside the polls and
pointed him out to one of our observers as shown in the picture
posted here.

The 2013 November Vigil energized the movement. The weekend gathering was vibrant and featured creativity in many different facets. Many participated for the first time in the annual vigil. On Sunday, November 24, thousands walked in a solemn funeral procession and commemorated those who have been killed by SOA/ WHINSEC graduates and U.S. militarization. The procession transitioned into an upbeat celebration of life and resistance, after Oscar Romero's last sermon was blasted through the stage speaker system, and a banner with our message, and thousands of soap bubbles crossed over the barb-wired fence.

The vigil weekend included for the first time a Peoples Movement Assembly (PMA) on Saturday morning. As part of the PMA, hundreds of movement activists gathered in small groups and discussed questions about the role of nonviolent direct action in the context of an increasingly militarized prison system. SOA Watch activists are taking the discussion back to their communities. The questions that we are focusing on are: is there a need to shift to other creative ways of continuing the tradition of direct action? What are your thoughts on nonviolent direct action and prison witness considering both our movement’s history and today’s context? The other main question focused on our grassroots organizing strategies. The conversations continue and we are looking forward to everyone's input.

Stay tuned for a report back from the November Vigil, the Peoples Movement Assembly, the rally at the Stewart Detention Center, and more!Also, SOA Watch will converge on Washington, DC from March 30 - April 3, 2014! We hope to see you there.

10:57: The solemn funeral procession to commemorate the victims of SOA violence begins.

Walking with the lead banner in the solemn funeral procession: SOA Watch founder Father Roy Bourgeois, SOA Watch organizer Maria Luisa Rosal, H.I.J.O.S. Mexico director Edith Lopez Ovalle, SOA Watch Chile Activante Camila Leiva, Guatemalan survivor Adriana Bartow. 10:41: The stage MCs announce that two Honduran campesinos were killed last night as they returned from an election training, as both victims had official electoral duties for today's election. They were ambushed by masked gunmen with high caliper weapons as they returned home on foot. They died immediately from the shootings.

The incident occurred between 7:30 and 8:00 pm, in the community of Carbon, in the Cantarranas Municipality. Maria Amparo Pineda Duarte was the elected President of the Cooperative. Julio Ramon Maradiaga was an active member. The community is the site of an ongoing land struggle in the area, and both victims were active members in the LIBRE party.

10:30am: Nieves Ayress, a torture survivor from Chile, makes an appeal to the soldiers: "Don't listen to the generals, don't attack the people."

10am: Lorena Cabnal, a Xinka woman from Guatemala, who is a member of the Mesoamerican Women in Resistance, and the co-founder of the Association of Indigenous Women of Santa María Xalapán, talks about the resistance to mining and militarization.

9:50am: Hector Aristizábal, a Colombian artist, actor and human rights activist, who survived torture at the hand of the School of the Americas trained Colombian military, addresses the crowds from the stage.

9:46am: The stage team is reading an update from Honduras, were 18 members of the LIBRE opposition party of Xiomara Castro de Zelaya – including candidates – have been murdered since May last year. Today, the Honduran presidential elections are taking place. (see Saturday report back below for an action alert).

Sunday morning, 9:38am: 36°F (feels like 28°) but sunny and our spirit is high! People from across the United States and from across the Americas are streaming into the vigil site.

Report back from Saturday:

Thousands gathered on Saturday, November 23 at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia (click here for photos from the rally). The rally to close the SOA and to resist U.S. militarization was preceded by a People's Movement Assembly (PMA) at the Columbus Convention Center, where hundreds of people discussed important movement questions, and shared hopes, dreams and strategies for the future of SOA Watch in 20 groups (click here for photos from the PMA). Tonight, we will gather in the Columbus Convention Center for workshops, panels, trainings, film screenings and a concert.

Tomorrow, on Sunday, we will again converge on the main gates on Fort Benning Road in a massive funeral procession to commemorate the victims of SOA violence and to celebrate the resistance.

While we are gathered here at the gates of Fort Benning, the presidential elections in Honduras are underway. Honduran social movements have felt the brunt of SOA repression since the SOA graduate-led military coup in 2009. Over 200 social movement activists have been murdered.

Three days ago SOA Watch activists, who are in Honduras to observe the delegation, were detained for four hours at a road block. Last night, the LIBRE party headquarters in Tegucigalpa were raided by armed police. International observers have been harassed. SOA Watch is a member of the Honduras Solidarity Network (HSN). Click here for an HSN action alert.

We will continue to stand in solidarity with the people of Honduras and fight together with them for justice, dignity and self-determination.

We are in contact with our friends in Honduras and will keep you updated throughout the weekend.

We are only a few days away from the 2013 November Vigil at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia. We are excited for this year's program--the many workshops,musicians, and speakers who make the event possible--and we are steadfast in our resistance to militarization and Empire!Have you arranged your trip to Fort Benning? Check out the November Vigil website for more information. Need more information on how to get to the vigil? Check out our Transportation Information page, including our carpool resource, the SOA Watch Ride Board. This year, three upcoming presidential elections in Latin America have special significance for the movement to close the SOA/WHINSEC, as Chile, Honduras, and El Salvador stand up for democracy against the ongoing suffering that has befallen these countries after coups d'etat led by SOA graduates.

We're heading to Fort Benning, Georgia, from November 22-24 to keep up the pressure to close the School of the Americas (SOA/WHINSEC). We carry with us the strength of social movements in Latin America who are turning their back on the SOA. We won't stop!

Thousands will gather at the gates, with speakers, music, street theater, workshops and networking with people from across the Americas. We come together at the gates of Fort Benning - where the killers are trained - to demand an end to US militarization and to impunity. The Vigil weekend is your opportunity to connect your communities with those across the hemisphere who are resisting Empire. In addition to the main funeral procession on Sunday, November 24, we will again have rallies, songs of resistance, 70 + workshops, and more.

And this year, on Friday, November 22, we will once again kick off the weekend joining our sisters and brothers to demand the closure of private detention prisons, like the Stewart Detention Center, and to highlight the connection between militarization and forced migration. Come early!

Invite a speaker! SOA Watch Activante in Honduras Brigitte Gynther and Latin American Liaison Lisa Sullivan will be hot on the speakers trail, and are looking to come to your community! Contact Dominique at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
if you can host a speaker.

An SOA Watch delegation protested this week against the installation of a military training center that is situated in the port city of Concón in the central Chilean province of Valparaíso, and paid for by the U.S. Southern Command. Watch a video of the protest here: http://youtu.be/zuUj1VMChMg

While local authorities and the U.S. military claim that Concón will be used for training armed forces deployed for peacekeeping operations, human rights groups believes the base is aimed at controlling and repressing civilian populations. For Chilean civil society, which has longtime experience with U.S. interventionism going back to the days of the Pinochet military dictatorship, the Concón base raises eyebrows. The actual design of the base - which simulates an urban zone with eight buildings as well as sidewalks and roads - suggests that the Chilean military is interested in repressing protest. According to United Press International, Concón "is growing into a major destination for regional military trainers and defense industry contractors."

From Concón, Chile to the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia:Shut Down the SOA! Led by SOA Watch Latin America Coordinator and torture survivor Pablo Ruiz, a delegation of SOA Watch activists is currently on the ground in Chile, where they are standing with tens of thousands of Chileans, in commemorating the martyrs whose lives were lost by the dictatorship. From these ashes of the past, a new Chile is arising, thanks to the valiant efforts of Chilean students and Mapuche people who refuse to accept the the neoliberal model imposed by Pinochet and designed by US economists.

From November 22-24, 2013, we will carry our protest to the place where the killers are still being trained: Fort Benning, Georgia. Join torture survivors, and social movement activists from Chile, Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia and from across the Americas and take a stand against the School of the Americas and oppressive U.S. foreign policy. The November Vigil has evolved into one of the largest annual anti-militarization gatherings in the hemisphere, with concerts, workshops, strategy sessions, protests, street theater and nonviolent direct action. Make your travel plans now and join us from November 22-24, 2013 at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia!

Last Friday, August 9th, SOA Watch supporters in four cities held actions to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the first direct action to call attention to the training of repressive military forces at Fort Benning. These actions were planned together with SOA Watch staff canvassing the streets of Washington DC, and founder Roy Bourgeois fasting for 24 hours at the gates of the SOA/WHINSEC in Georgia.

We would like to thank all of the community members who came together and mobilized for August 9th, and send our support to all others who used the auspicious date as a time to organize against militarization and oppression.

Without the support of the grassroots, popular movements cannot carry the torch of justice into the halls of power. Public convergences such as these help to spread the word about the School of the Americas/WHINSEC, and the issues which are connected with it. Continue taking it to the streets, gente, and never stop speaking truth to power.